Interesting article: Can you lift light and still make muscle gains?

oatsareclass

Hey all, just wondering what you all think about this article on light weights and muscle gains? Click on this and scroll to top for article

http://www.ironmanmagazine.com/blogs/jerrybrainum/?p=304#comments

Maybe Tracey Anderson and co. aren't full of s**t after all !!!!

Opinions anyone?

Satanta

I put on 2 kilos at the end of last year switching to lighter weights and increasing the rep range. Always training to failure though. I think it has more to do with changing your workout regularly though. I read one that everything works, but nothing works forever.

rubadub

I saw this just last night, found the full text of the study here
http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0012033

The article linked in the first post mentions occlusion training, which I did and did get apparent gains in size using low weights.

Some might have seen videos of lads in the US in playgrounds doing chinup routines sort of like breakdancing, many of them are pretty big and some guy claiming to be one of them gave a typical routine on a forum and it was ridiculously high volume reps. The american footballer Herschel Walker was also supposed to be a strictly high rep bodyweight man, and pretty well built.

Occlusion training, AKA kaatsu has got plenty of studies done on it, and not just humans, they had a horse on a treadmill with one leg occluded and it grew. There was also an instance of a hockey player who was injured doing it, though he started out doing it at ridiculously high reps from what I hear -and his injury/condition has been seen in other athletes following normal exercises but in massive volume.

Mellor

Satanta wrote: »

I put on 2 kilos at the end of last year switching to lighter weights and increasing the rep range.

TBH, I'd say it was down to increased range not lower weight.
Before you just weren't lifting with good form

Satanta

Mellor wrote: »

TBH, I'd say it was down to increased range not lower weight.
Before you just weren't lifting with good form

Wrong. I always lift to good form, I'm not a beginner.

Decreasing the weight allowed the increased number of repetitions. Whereas before I would have been generally lifting in the 6-8 rep range for the working sets, and sometimes as low as 4 (keeping good form and not trying to force reps)

Although it went against everything I wanted to do, I lowered the weight and increased the rep range to 10 - 12 reps. I had read that this would maximize hypertrophy. I tried it for 8 weeks and made steady gains. When the gains died off, I switched the routing again to a mixed rep range. Which again kicked off some gains. And surprisingly (it surprised me anyway) I was able to lift heavier at the lower range than before.

Sangre

Satanta wrote: »

Wrong. I always lift to good form, I'm not a beginner.

Decreasing the weight allowed the increased number of repetitions. Whereas before I would have been generally lifting in the 6-8 rep range for the working sets, and sometimes as low as 4 (keeping good form and not trying to force reps)

Although it went against everything I wanted to do, I lowered the weight and increased the rep range to 10 - 12 reps. I had read that this would maximize hypertrophy. I tried it for 8 weeks and made steady gains. When the gains died off, I switched the routing again to a mixed rep range. Which again kicked off some gains. And surprisingly (it surprised me anyway) I was able to lift heavier at the lower range than before.

There is a difference between lifting light and lifting lighter. I wouldn't call say 3 sets of 10-12 reps (if hard) is light. Just lighter than your normal routine. The above article refers to 30% of 1rm which is very light.

I think mixing up rep range is a great way to shake up a programme without changing every exercise. Nice to give yourself a break from the normal.

Mellor

Sorry, I thought you said increased range, as in ROM, and took it that you were lifting too heavy a weight with 3/4 reps
Reading again, I was wrong

rubadub

Sangre wrote: »

I wouldn't call say 3 sets of 10-12 reps (if hard) is light.

+1, in the study they were doing 23-25 reps. With occlusion training people got muscle and strength gains just walking slowly on treadmills while occluded, and cycling.